Le Petit Train des Côtes-du-Nord ran through Binic and Etables to take bathers to their holiday resorts.
This was part of the Saint-Brieuc - Plouha line, which ran from 1905 to 1956.
The master builder of the line was Louis Harel de la Noë, chief engineer of the Ponts et Chaussées des Côtes du Nord.
He was one of the pioneers in the use of reinforced concrete. Many of his structures can still be seen and are still in use, such as the Toupin viaduct at St Brieuc.
Binic station was on the edge of Plage de la Banche: the train spanned the River Ic (the river that flows into the harbour) on a viaduct that has now been destroyed. It then continued over the Chien Noir viaduct towards Lantic and then Plourhan to reach Etables, where it could stop at the station, located where the Salle des Loisirs now stands.
Finally, the train passed through the heart of the Ponto valley, over the Pourrhis viaduct and then over the Ponto viaduct to reach Portrieux.
Did you know?
Located 400m from the Pourrhis viaduct, the Ponto viaduct crossed the valley of the same name.
Measuring 91 m long and 13.40 m high, it had 8 arches.
It was demolished in 1988 to make way for a quarry.
Competition from cars made the railway obsolete. Lines were closed throughout the département from 1937 onwards. The St Brieuc - Plouha line was closed on 31 December 1956 and Etables station destroyed in 1968.
A small green setting, very close to the Moulin beach, today you can enjoy the Ponto valley and the Pourrhis viaduct on foot or by bike: ask for our heritage fact sheet or our walking fact sheet.
Did you know?
The département used to be called "Côtes du Nord", but the name was changed to "Côtes d'Armor" in 1990.
Video from 1956: " Le dernier voyage du petit train Saint Brieuc - Paimpol " (" The last journey of the little train from Saint Brieuc to Paimpol ")
Binic-Etables-sur-Mer Tourisme
6 place Le Pomellec
22520 Binic-Etables sur Mer
Tel. 02 96 73 60 12
Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday: 9.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 5.30pm. Closed on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons
Closed on Saturday afternoons between November and February.